The Palestinian death toll has been updated to 260, which includes 19 reported deaths in the past 10 hours. One of them includes a five-month-old baby, Faris Juma’ al-Mahmoum, who was reportedly killed by Israeli tank fire in the southern Gaza town of Rafah.

Updated at 8.18am BST

7.40am BST

In case you missed it, Israel has officially designated MohammedAbu Khdeir, the 16-year-old boy who was killed by Israeli settlers last week, a "victim of terrorism", meaning the young man's family will receive the same compensation and benefits as Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorism.

The New York Times has details on his death from court documents released Thursday:

In the moments before he was kidnapped at dawn on July 2, Muhammad Abu Khdeir, 16, suddenly sensed that there was something suspicious about the two casually dressed Jewish teenagers who were asking him directions. He tried to move away and call a friend, then shouted and struggled as the two youths forced him into a waiting car driven by an adult relative, according to court documents released on Thursday.

A 29-year old Israeli (centre) is escorted by prison guards on Thursday after being indicted with the death of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 16, whose charred body was found after he was reported kidnapped. Photograph: Sebastian Scheiner/AP

Updated at 7.58am BST

7.30am BST

Sirens continue to sound as rockets shower Israeli towns near the occupied Palestinian territories. It's brought life to a temporary standstill in Ashkelon, about ten kilometres north of Gaza.

Was the first Israeli soldier to be killed in this invasion felled by friendly fire?

The Times of Israel is citing "unconfirmed reports" that the unnamed soldier could have been killed in an accident, but cautions "the circumstances around his death [are] not immediately clear".

More details:

The soldier was critically wounded during an operation against rocket launchers in the area of Beit Hanoun and died of his wounds before he could be evacuated. Four other soldiers were injured, one moderately and the rest lightly.

Closing Hamas's network of tunnels into Israel has emerged as a key objective of this ground invasion. In October we published this gallery of photographs from inside some of these tunnels, most of them under Gaza's Egyptian border, used to smuggle food, animals, concrete, weapons and other banned materials into the occupied territory. The Egyptian military has been systematically dismantling the tunnel network into the Sinai desert since Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ousted the former president, Mohamed Morsi, in a coup last July.

A view of a ventilation shaft along a tunnel allegedly dug by Palestinians beneath the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel and recently uncovered by Israeli troops. Photograph: David Buimovitch/AFP/Getty Images/Guardian

Updated at 6.38am BST

6.00am BST

IDF spokespeople are now up and about, giving some details of the events of the last few hours:

As we await more information on an Israeli soldier reportedly killed in northern Gaza, AFP is reporting that the official Palestinian death toll has now hit 258:

The death toll in Gaza hit 258 early on Friday as Israel pressed a ground offensive on the 11th day of a massive operation to stamp out militant rocket fire.

The latest deaths were of four family members in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, with another two killed in the northern town Beit Hanoun, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said, raising Friday's death toll to 17.

Earlier, three men were killed by tank fire east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza and another was killed in Shejaiyeh, east of Gaza city, Qudra said.

He added that five people were killed by Israeli fire in several separate incidents in the southern city of Rafah, including a five-month-old baby.

In northern Gaza, two men were killed in tank shelling in Beit Hanun, he said.

According to figures provided by the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, more than 80 percent of the victims were civilians.

At least 1,920 Palestinians have also been wounded.

Since the Israeli operation began before dawn on July 8, at least 1,150 rockets fired from Gaza have struck Israel, and another 311 have been shot down by the Iron Dome air defence system, army figures show.

On the Israeli side, one civilian was killed by rocket fire earlier this week, and another four have been seriously injured.

5.39am BST

IDF has now confirmed the Israeli military casualty; more details to come

IDF (@IDFSpokesperson)

An IDF soldier was killed in action during the ground operation in Gaza last night. His family has been notified.

Reuters has filed another update confirming earlier reports that this invasion is not intended to vanquish Hamas forces in Gaza, but rather to close the tunnels into Israel that 13 Palestinian gunmen used on Thursday to infiltrate Israeli territory.

GAZA/JERUSALEM, July 18 (Reuters) - Israel launched a Gaza ground campaign after 10 days of bombardments from the air and sea failed to stop militants' rocket attacks, stepping up an offensive that already has taken a heavy toll in civilian lives.

Israel signalled the invasion would be limited in scope - targeting tunnels dug by gunmen - and said it was not intended to topple Hamas, the Gaza Strip's dominant Islamist group.

Explosions lit up the sky in the early hours of Friday and residents in several areas of the densely populated strip of 1.8 million Palestinians said they saw small numbers of Israeli tanks that had crossed the border from Israel.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office late on Thursday said he had given orders to destroy tunnels that militants use to infiltrate Israel and carry out attacks.

An Israeli military spokesman said Israel was not out to try to topple Hamas.

Gaza residents and medical officials reported heavy shelling along the eastern border from the southern town of Rafah to the north of the strip.

Residents said heavy clashes took place along the border, including in the northern towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.

Orange flashes illuminated the eastern Gaza Strip as Israeli gunboats off the Mediterranean coast fired shells and tracer bullets. Israeli artillery pounded the area and helicopters fired across the border, Reuters witnesses said.

Rockets streaked from Gaza towards the southern Israeli towns of Ashdod and Ashkelon. Live television showed interceptions by the Iron Dome anti-missile system, and no casualties were reported.

Israel last mounted a large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip during a three-week war in late 2008 and early 2009 that claimed 1,400 Palestinian and 13 Israeli lives.

No time frame was announced for the new operation, and the length and intensity of Israel's assaults could depend on the scale of civilian deaths. Such casualties are likely to boost international pressure for a ceasefire.

The current conflict was largely triggered by the killing of three Israeli teens in the occupied West Bank last month and the death on July 2 of a Palestinian youth in a suspected revenge murder.

Israel briefly held its fire on Tuesday after Egypt, which is also Gaza's neighbour, announced a truce plan, but Hamas and other militant groups rejected the proposal, saying it had not addressed their demands.

"The directive for ground action was approved by the security cabinet after Israel agreed to the Egyptian ceasefire proposal, whereas Hamas rejected it and continued firing rockets at Israeli cities," the statement from Netanyahu's office said.

Several hours after the announcement, two residents of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, said they could see a small number of Israeli tanks inside Palestinian territory.

A witness in northern Gaza said several tanks had rolled through Israel's Erez border crossing to the Palestinian side but had stopped short of residential areas, and that no clashes had ensued.

4.22am BST

Palestinian journalist Mohammed Omer appears to be in southern Gaza where fighting is particularly heavy. He's updating his Twitter feed with casualties:

The significance of the terminology above is slightly lost on me, but some on Twitter are suggesting that the use of "activists" casts a wider net of warning to anybody in Gaza thinking of resisting this assault. Have you any theories? Let us know below or at @safimichael

3.54am BST

Meanwhile, tensions rise in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem:

Rania Zabaneh (@RZabaneh)

On 3rd FRI of Ramadan: Confrontations in AlAqsa mosque, Israel bans males less than 50-yr-o from access, erects checkpoints across J'lem.

In his call with Netanyahu, Kerry "emphasized the need to avoid further escalation and to restore the 2012 ceasefire as soon as possible, reinforced our continuing commitment to the Egyptian initiative as the way to do so and underscored the importance of Hamas accepting this plan as soon as possible," a State Department statement said.

The Israeli leader, in turn, stressed to Kerry the "imminent threat" to Israeli civilians posed by Hamas tunnels from the Gaza Strip to Israel, according to the statement.

Kerry "reaffirmed our strong support for Israel's right to defend itself against terrorist threats emanating from tunnels into Israel and expressed our view that this should be a precise operation to target tunnels", according to his office.

"The secretary also reiterated our concern about the safety and security of civilians on both sides and the importance of doing everything possible to prevent civilian casualties."

Hamas, the Islamist rulers of Gaza, had rejected a ceasefire intended to start on Tuesday and continued firing rockets at Israeli cities.

Updated at 4.01am BST

3.38am BST

Speaking on Melbourne radio on Friday morning, the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, was asked his thoughts on the news that Israel has launched a ground assault on Gaza.

Here's his response:

We certainly support Israel’s right to exist. We support Israel’s right to self-defence and we deplore the attacks on Israel from Gaza. Now I don’t have any further detail on what may or may not be happening at the moment. All I know is that Israel is regularly rocketed from Gaza. That shouldn’t happen.

Meanwhile, the New York Times is reporting Israeli military officials as saying the intention of the ground and sea assault is not to vanquish Hamas once and for all:

Israeli leaders said the incursion was a limited one focused on tunnels into its territory like the one used for a predawn attack Thursday that was thwarted. They said it was not intended to topple Hamas, the militant Islamist movement, from its longtime rule of Gaza.

As rockets continued to rain down on Israeli cities, a military spokesman said the mission’s expansion was “not time bound” and was aimed to ensure Hamas operatives were “pursued, paralysed and threatened” as it targeted “terrorist infrastructure” in the north, south and east of Gaza “in parallel”.

Along with the ugly reports last month of Palestinian officials and civilians celebrating the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli youths, it gives an insight into the deep hatred that fuels this seven-decade old conflict and its latest manifestation in Gaza right now.

Meanwhile American comedian Bill Maher has run into controversy for this bald analogy:

Bill Maher (@billmaher)

Dealing w/ Hamas is like dealing w/ a crazy woman who's trying to kill u - u can only hold her wrists so long before you have to slap her

Social media is providing another forum for Palestinians, Israelis and their sympathisers to clash and try to shape the narrative around this latest outbreak of violence. The hashtags, #GazaUnderAttack and #IsraelUnderFire, appear to be reporting two completely different conflicts.

The Jerusalem Post has this fascinating story on a social media push spearheaded from a "Hasbara" – or public diplomacy – room at the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzliya, where some 400 students have volunteered since the beginning of the 10-day-old conflict to push the Israeli message over Twitter, Facebook and other sites.

As a ground offensive in Gaza is underway, UNICEF reiterates its call on all sides to urgently exercise maximum restraint and for the protection of civilians – not only for the sake of peace, but for sake of the children who are suffering the worst of this current violence.

Updated at 2.42am BST

2.19am BST

Just in from AP in Gaza:

The heavy thud of tank shells, often just seconds apart, echoed across the Gaza Strip early Friday as thousands of Israeli soldiers backed by tanks launched a ground invasion, escalating a 10-day campaign of heavy air bombardments to try to destroy Hamas' rocket-firing abilities and the tunnels militants use to infiltrate Israel.

Flares lit up the night sky before dawn and the wail of ambulance sirens mixed with the Muslim call to prayer from mosque loudspeakers as thick smoke rose into the air from sites where shells and missiles struck.

You can hear the extraordinary sound of the azan behind sirens and the incessant drone of aircraft above Gaza City on this live stream for the next few minutes.

Updated at 2.20am BST

2.08am BST

The day's first prayer in Gaza is scheduled for about 5 minutes. The azan, or call to prayer, began to sound over the city and could be heard in this live stream, but was interrupted by enormously bright flares in the sky followed by dull thuds and wailing sirens.

Updated at 2.13am BST

1.59am BST

Israel's Foreign Ministry says rockets continue to rain down on Israeli cities and villages as unknown numbers of troops stream into the Gaza Strip.

It's nearing 4am in Gaza and air strikes are continuing to pummel urban centres in the territory. You can hear sirens, the drone of aircraft and the occasional dull thud in live feeds here. Journalists on the ground are reporting ongoing explosions.

Hala Jaber (@HalaJaber)

If you were watching the live stream & heard the jet & missile dropped, tt was fired at the Daoud Tower, in central #Gaza.#GazaUnderAttack

Click here to read Peter Beaumont's latest file from Gaza City as the Israeli assault continues throughout the night.

11.26pm BST

Israel Air Force planes and helicopters are striking targets in Khan Yunis and Beit Hanoun, while naval vessels are striking in Sudaniyya, according to the Muqata. The site adds that an IDF source claims multiple Hamas fighters have been killed or wounded in an attack in Gaza.

Updated at 1.45am BST

11.19pm BST

Here's some video from Gaza of Israeli forces exchanging fire with Hamas fighters after the IDF began its ground offensive.

The US state department has criticised Israel for the high civilian death toll in Gaza, which spokesperson Jen Psaki described as "heartbreaking".

"The tragic event makes clear that Israel must take every possible step to meet its standards for protecting civilians from being killed. We will continue to underscore that point to Israel," Psaki said.

Updated at 11.22pm BST

10.57pm BST

The IDF's blog explains why the new phase of Operation Protective Edge, which started on July 8, has begun tonight in Gaza.

10.43pm BST

The Israeli Defense Forces tells all residents in the south of the Gaza Strip, specifically Otef Aza, to remain in their bomb shelters throughout the night.

10.34pm BST

Israel is calling up another 18,000 reserves to bring the total number of troops on the Gaza border to almost 60,000.

10.28pm BST

The price of oil rose 2% as the conflict between Israel and Gaza escalates, amid fears that the Malaysia Airlines plane shot down on Thursday could heighten tension between Russia and Ukraine. Crude oil was up $1.99 to close at $103.19 a barrel in New York.

Updated at 11.22pm BST

10.19pm BST

Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary general, says he regrets the escalation in hostilities in Gaza and urges Israel to do more to prevent civilian casualties.

Updated at 10.42pm BST

10.14pm BST

Reports say that all electricity to Gaza has been shut off, which the darkness visible on live video feeds would appear to confirm.

Alon Ben-David, a reporter with Israel's Channel 10, says there have been "dozens" of Palestinian casualties in the ground invasion so far. At least 235 Palestinians have been killed in the past ten days.

9.53pm BST

A tweet from Israel National Radio says that Israeli forces have just bombed the port in Gaza:

IsraelNationalRadio (@IsraelRadio)

Report: South update: The Gaza port was bombed by the IDF naval force just now.

A spokesman for Hamas says that Israel's move is "foolish" and will have "dreadful consequences"

9.36pm BST

Several flares lighting up the sky above the Gaza Strip have just been seen on video coming from cameras trained on the scene.

9.27pm BST

The action is the first major Israeli ground offensive in Gaza in just over five years and would be open-ended, an Israeli military spokesman said.

9.24pm BST

Operation Protective Edge is intended to "target Hamas' tunnels that enable terrorists to infiltrate Israel and carry out attacks", the official Israeli statement about the ground offensive added.

9.20pm BST

One unconfirmed report on Twitter claims that 8,000 Israeli troops are now on the ground in Gaza.

9.11pm BST

Smoke from flares rises in the sky in Gaza City. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

Netanyahu's statement added: "Israel is committed to act to protect its citizens. The operation will continue until its goals are reached: To bring quiet to the citizens of Israel for a long period of time, and to seriously harm Hamas and other terrorist organizations' infrastructure in the Gaza Strip."

Updated at 10.23pm BST

9.10pm BST

Israel did not say how many troops were involved or provide other details of the operation. It is understood that more reserves are being called up.

9.08pm BST

Netanyahu's office said he told the army to go ahead after Hamas rejected an Egyptian cease-fire plan earlier this week and Hamas militants tried to infiltrate into Israel through a tunnel from Gaza earlier today. The prime minister's statement said:

In light of the despicable and relentless aggression by Hamas and the dangerous infiltration into Israel, Israel is obliged to protect its citizens."

Updated at 10.13pm BST

9.02pm BST

The Israeli army said tonight that after 10 days of Hamas attacks, it has "initiated a ground operation within the Gaza Strip" with the objective of striking a "significant blow to Hamas' terror infrastructure".

8.55pm BST

Israel's decision to move troops into Gaza follows fierce clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas earlier today after a temporary ceasefire ended. An airstrike killed three Palestinian children who had been feeding pigeons on the roof of their house.

8.43pm BST

Israeli military instructed to begin ground offensive in Gaza

This is Chris Johnston taking over our Middle East blog as Binyamin Netanyahu instructs troops to move into the Gaza Strip

Three Israelies have been charged with the murder of 16-year-old Muhammed Abu Khdeir, Reuters reports.

The defendants in Mohammed's killing - an adult and two minors - were not named publicly in the charge sheet, which said a court order against their identification was in effect. If convicted on murder and kidnapping charges, the adult could face life imprisonment and the minors a shorter sentence.

They appeared in a Jerusalem court to hear the indictment read but a spokesman for a legal aid society representing them said pleas would be entered only at a later stage. Police, who used security camera footage to trace the car, said the three had confessed and re-enacted the killing for investigators.

"Defendant number 1", the store owner, has been taking medication for mental illness for years and suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, the charge sheet said. The website of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, says OCD symptoms include an inability to control unwanted thoughts and behaviour.

"Defendant 2" is described as a Jewish seminary student. The third accused had pursued religious studies but later worked in a toy shop. He, too, the charge sheet said, takes psychiatric drugs and has OCD.

After the indictment was read in Jerusalem District Court, Israel announced it was assigning a special status to the slain teenager enabling his family to receive government benefits.

It designated the Palestinian youth a "victim of terrorism".

4.29pm BST

Three more children have been killed by a strike on Gaza, ministry of health spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra confirms, and Gaza television has aired images from the hospital (warning: photos are graphic).

Al-Qudra has released their names as Fulla Tariq Shuhaiber, Jihad Issam Shuhaiber and Waseem Issam Shuhaiber.

benwedeman (@bencnn)

Three children killed in Talatini neighborhood, #Gaza City. A "warning" bomb was fired about 10 minutes before. #Palestine#Gaza

A large volley of rockets has been fired toward a wide swath of Israel, as sirens go off near Tel Aviv, Raanan, Kfar, Hod Hasharon, Herzliya and the Gush Dan area, according to Haaretz and others. While the area north of Tel Aviv has heard sirens, the city center itself only overheard explosions nearby.

Journalists report "thuds" and explosions, and the IDF also announcing a warning. Iron Dome batteries are operating, and continuing to intercept rockets. The IDF says more some 40 rockets have been fired since the five-hour ceasefire ended at 3pm local time.

Ben Hartman (@Benhartman)

Rocket strikes a house in the Hof Ashkelon region, damage caused, no injuries #Israel#Gaza

There's "no safe haven for those living in the shadow of the Iron Dome", Orlando Crowcroft (@ocrowcroft) writes for the Guardian, from Tel Aviv.

In ramshackle Kfar Shalem … just a few blocks away from a battery of Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system, there are no bomb shelters. In this neighbourhood, concrete bungalows and corrugated iron shacks make up the housing stock. When shrapnel fell on Wednesday, residents simply went outside and lay on the ground.

One resident jokes that the 90 seconds after the sirens that the authorities give residents to reach a shelter is barely enough for him to run to the closest tower block.

Israeli soldiers lie on the ground as an Iron Dome missile is launched near Ashdod. Photograph: Moti Milrod/AP

Others, like Dudu Lanardo, 35, prefer to take their chances. The father of two admits that he slept through yesterday's siren. "I am not afraid," he says, "I trust Iron Dome."

His neighbours, however, were not so lucky. A few narrow, dusty streets away, a metre-long piece of rocket shrapnel crashed through the roof of a family home on Wednesday and into the living room.

"The ball is still in play" in Cairo negotiations, an Israeli official tells Sky News, with other unnamed sources telling them talks are "making progress" toward ceasefire.

Senior western diplomatic sources have told Sky News that Israel is believed to have offered a package of concessions related to easing "movement restrictions" on Gaza, but has ruled out the release of any Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails.﻿

Hamas has also called for the opening of the Rafah crossing from Gaza into Egypt, a request which will require the approval of president Abdel Fattah al=Sisi.

"This is not the first time we have been confronted by such situations … Since [the creation of the state of Israel] in 1948 we have been witnessing this attempt at systematic genocide every day and every month.

"But above all we are witnessing this attempt at systematic genocide every Ramadan.

"The western world remains silent, so does the Islamic world. Because those who lost their lives are Palestinian, you can't hear their voices.

"What is the UN doing? Why has it been founded? For world peace? Does it contribute to the world peace? No. They are serving whatever their secret agenda is.

"I am asking the Islamic world, isn't your heart shattered? Forget about the west, If your family does not embrace you, would others do that?"

Earlier in the week Erdogan said Israel was "terrorizing the region" and compared an Israeli minister's "mentality" to Hitler's. He faces elections on 10 August.

Updated at 3.38pm BST

3.22pm BST

Attacks are again ramping up from both the IDF and Palestinian militant factions, per CNN's Ben Wederman.

benwedeman (@bencnn)

Drones have returned to the skies of #Gaza, scattered air strikes,occasional outgoing rockets.Not yet up to previous pace, but starting up.

There are reports of a "security incident" on the ground in western Negev, with the Jerusalem Post's Ben Hartmen reporting police acknowledgement. Haaretz reports that residents in Eshkol Regional Council have been ordered to remain inside their homes, and sirens are sounding in Ein Hashlosha.

The UNRWA has published a statement of condemnation over the placement of rockets in one of its schools. It reads in part:

Yesterday, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered approximately 20 rockets hidden in a vacant school in the Gaza Strip. … This is a flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law. This incident, which is the first of its kind in Gaza, endangered civilians including staff and put at risk UNRWA’s vital mission to assist and protect Palestine refugees in Gaza.

Immediately after discovery, the agency informed the relevant parties and successfully took all necessary measures for the removal of the objects in order to preserve the safety and security of the school. UNRWA has launched a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident.

Palestinian civilians in Gaza rely on UNRWA to provide humanitarian assistance and shelter. At all times, and especially during escalations of violence, the sanctity and integrity of UN installations must be respected.

It condemned the placement of rockets in the school as a "flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law."

It says an investigation has been launched.

UNWRA's schools have housed for thousands of Palestinians seeking shelter during the current Israeli bombardment.

In a statement it said: "Palestinian civilians in Gaza rely on UNRWA to provide humanitarian assistance and shelter. At all times, and especially during escalations of violence, the sanctity and integrity of UN installations must be respected."

Families from North Gaza seek refuge in one of the UNRWA schools. Photograph: Ibrahim Khader/Pacific Press/BI

The pause shows that a cessation of hostilities is possible if all the parties demonstrate the necessary will and put the interests of civilians, who have borne the brunt of this escalation, first. Encouraged by discussions in Cairo, the Secretary-General hopes today’s humanitarian pause can lead to a more durable calm and expresses once again his support for international efforts, led by Egypt, to arrive at a sustainable ceasefire. In this regard, it will be crucial to address the underlying factors that have led to the recent escalation, including governance issues, the need to bring Gaza back under one legitimate Palestinian Government adhering to the PLO commitments, the full opening of the legal crossings, and other unimplemented core elements of Security Council Resolution 1860.

The Secretary-General reiterates the United Nations readiness to help facilitate all efforts to this end. He has dispatched his Special Coordinator to Gaza to help further de-escalate tensions and achieve a lasting ceasefire that will spare Palestinians and Israelis future such rounds of violence.

Ceasefire efforts 'ongoing'

Efforts in Cairo to reach a ceasefire agreement are "ongoing", I've been told by an Israeli government official here in Jerusalem - suggesting that reports that a truce will start at 6am tomorrow are premature, writes Harriet Sherwood.

Israel has a three-man team in Cairo, and Hamas officials are also involved in arms-length talks. Also Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is there, and Tony Blair is heading back there from Jerusalem. So there is a pretty active scene in Cairo, but nothing concrete as yet.

A western diplomat here in Israel told me earlier that Hamas's demand for Israel to release those recently rearrested after being freed in the 2011 Shalit deal is a real sticking point, especially while those responsible for the abduction and murder of three Israeli youths in the West Bank last month have yet to be arrested.

The official who leaked reports of a "comprehensive ceasefire" agreement now seems to rowing back slightly. Reuters reports:

An Israeli official said on Thursday that Israeli senior representatives at talks in Cairo had accepted an Egyptian proposal for a comprehensive Gaza ceasefire starting on Friday, but Israel's leaders still had to approve the deal.

The official, who earlier said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision-making security cabinet had agreed to the truce, later told Reuters the forum had not yet voted and was still examining its details.

In Gaza, there was no immediate comment from Hamas or other Palestinian groups on whether they had accepted a permanent ceasefire to end warfare now in its 10th day.

12.58pm BST

Today's humanitarian truce, which was largely observed despite the exchange of mortar fire, is not expected to last.

Israel's prime minister has signalled that Israel will resume bombardment of Gaza when the five-hour truce expires in the next few minutes.

Israel News Feed (@IsraelHatzolah)

PM Netanyahu has rejected request of extending current ceasefire, and said Israeli air force to react as soon temporarily ceasefire ends.

Hamas has set five conditions for a ceasefire, according to the Electronic Intifada. It lists them as:

Opening all the crossing with the Gaza Strip.

Opening Rafah crossing, the link between Gaza and Egypt, on a permanent basis, 24 hours per day with international guarantees it will not be closed.

A maritime corridor to Gaza.

Allowing residents of the Gaza Strip to pray in the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Israel will release the prisoners who were freed as part of the “Shalit” deal, and Israel will abide by the previous agreement reached by prisoners and the Israel Prison Service with Egyptian mediation in 2012.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a "comprehensive ceasefire agreement" in Cairo, according to the BBC's Jerusalem correspondent Kevin Connolly again citing a single Israeli source.

Speaking on the BBC World Service Connolly cautioned that the report had not been confirmed by Hamas.

It will feel more solid, more comfortable, this news when we are hearing something similar from the people in Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and the mediators in Egypt. We are getting it from one source, but after a week of pretty dark news it is by far the most encouraging thing we have heard so far.

11.52am BST

Hamas denies breaking humanitarian truce

Hamas has denied any involvement in a mortar attack on Eshkol, which Israel's military blamed on "Hamas terrorists".

"They (Israelis) are lying. All the Palestinian factions are continuing to observe the truce," a Hamas source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"They want to use this as a reason to kill fighters," the source said.

The mortar fire interrupted a ceasefire called for by the UN on humanitarian grounds, which both Israel and Hamas had agreed to observe between 0700 GMT and 1200 GMT.

11.49am BST

There is an unconfirmed report that Israel has also broken today's humanitarian truce by shelling eastern Rafah.

Sharif Kouddous (@sharifkouddous)

Local channel reporting that Israel just shelled in eastern Rafah in south Gaza. Ceasefire supposed to be on for 2 more hours.

Peter Bouckaert, the emergency director of Human Rights Watch, has praised the way the Guardian's Peter Beaumont tended to the wounded after witnessing Wednesday's fatal beach attack in which four boys were killed.

You couldn't mistake them even through the smoke, it was obvious they were children. The oldest one who was thirteen looked to me as if he was eight. These were dinky raggedy fisherman kids wearing shorts.

We didn't think they had been injured at that stage and one of them, the 21-year-old, comes up and he's been hit in the abdomen and in a lot pain. He was about to faint and the waiters caught him and bundled him into a taxi to the hospital. We got some med kits from the rooms and the three kids are sitting in the corner of the terrace. One had blood in his T-shirt and we pulled it up found a shrapnel wound in his chest. So I began cleaning his wound and dressing and checking his breathing. Another of the kids was also seen to, he had quite a lot of abrasions. Then the ambulance came and took them to Shifa Hospital.

11.03am BST

Just to be clear there has been no confirmation yet from Gaza that Hamas fired mortars at Eshkol, as the IDF claimed.

Jack F X Moore (@JFXM)

Many are reporting sirens in Eshkol after 3 mortars fired from #Gaza. But how does @IDFSpokesperson know it was Hamas straight away?

Peres issues qualified apology over beach deaths

He said the deadly attack was an accident but appeared to blame Palestinians for not heeding warnings issued by the Israeli air force. He said:

It wasn't intentional and we are really sorry to see four children being killed. I think the air force is taking the maximum care not to hit children. And it was an accident because it was an area that we warned would be bombed, because there was a great concentration of weapons. And unfortunately they didn't take out the children.

Updated at 10.15am BST

10.00am BST

Both Hamas and Israel appear to have upheld the humanitarian ceasefire for the first two hours.

We have opened this live blog to comments for discussion of today's events in Israel and Palestine. Please help to keep the conversation on topic and be aware of our community standards.

If you are directly affected by the day's events please share your experience in the thread. You can also contribute to our GuardianWitness assignments and share your experiences of what it's like living in Israel and living in Palestine.

9.07am BST

The humanitarian truce appears to have been respected for the first hour at least.

You can monitor whether that remains the case for the remaining four-hours on a live feed from Reuters.

Reuters live feed of Gaza

8.54am BST

The Israeli military has released infrared video footage of that tunnel attack which was foiled before the ceasefire started.

It purports to show gunmen (marked as "terrorists" with a red arrow) lying in ambush positions near tunnel entrance before they withdraw down it.

"Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are now without water. Within days, the entire population of the Strip may be desperately short of water," according to Jacques de Maio, head of the ICRC delegation in Israel and the occupied territories.

"Water and electrical services are also affected as a result of the current hostilities. If they do not stop, the question is not if but when an already beleaguered population will face an acute water crisis," he added.

Hospitals, refugee camps, schools, and homes all need water and electricity in order to function, but recent attacks have put water and electrical systems out of action. To make matters worse, the intensified fighting is preventing technicians from carrying out essential repairs. Following the deaths of several municipal water technicians over the past few days, Gaza’s water service provider has suspended all field operations until the safety of its staff can be guaranteed.

As a result, hundreds of thousands more people will soon find there is no water when they turn on the tap.

Updated at 9.03am BST

8.34am BST

The continuing blockade of Gaza means it is unlikely that new aid supplies will reach the Palestinian enclave, even if the ceasefire holds.

A senior UN official told AFP:

"The Kerem Shalom crossing is closed today for security reasons, aid can't come through Erez - it's not big enough - so no new aid is going to enter Gaza today."

Instead, the truce would allow people who have fled their homes to go back to collect supplies from them, and help the UN get to areas it could not reach before, the official told AFP.

BBC Arabic has showed images of Palestinians queuing for cash at an ATM at the start of the truce.

The report claim minutes before a ceasefire was due to start at 10am local time (0700 GMT).

7.47am BST

The UN relief agency for Palestine says the killing of four children on a beach by an Israeli air strike is another “tragic illustration” of the extent to which civilians are suffering in this "appalling conflict".

The UN says that more than three quarters of Palestinians killed in the Israeli offensive have been civilians, including 44 children.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Chris Gunness, spokesman for the UNWRA, said the fatal beach incident would add to the trauma facing children.

"Because of this latest upsurge in violence 25,000 children are in deep trauma and need psycho-social support. That is quite unacceptable," he said.

Gunness also said the proposed humanitarian ceasefire offers an opportunity to find a peaceful solution to the violence. He said:

Let’s hope that this ceasefire, which both sides have reportedly agreed to, actually takes hold.

We hope that the parties to this conflict will build on what we hope will be achieved in the coming hours. It is quite simply unsustainable to have a situation where every couple of years millions of people across Israel are terrorised by rockets coming out of Gaza, which the UN condemns, but it is also unacceptable to have a situation where 1.7 million people in Gaza, more than half of whom are children, are put through what they are going through now.

We welcome the ceasefire and make an urgent plea, as a humanitarian ogranisation for all of the parties to address the root causes of the conflict, which of course includes the blockade of Gaza, which makes day to day life there intolerable.

In the space of 40 seconds, four boys who had been playing hide and seek among fishermen's shacks on the wall were dead. They were aged between seven and 11; two were named Mohammad, one Zakaria and the youngest Ahed. All were members of the extended Bakr family.

Hamas calls for international action over an Israeli air strike on Gaza beach that left four children dead and another seriously injured. Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri calls on Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations to act on what he describes as Israeli war crimes